Sunday, June 10, 2007

Travel notes

Nile Cruise and Philae
http://www.bruneitimes.com.bn/details.php?shape_ID=32668
"Although the dams are of great value for cultivation, their construction meant the flooding of priceless historical monuments. One such monument was saved the Philae temple, which was underwater after the first dam was built. When the High Dam was erected, the temple was dismantled and moved, piece by piece, to the island of Egelika, 150m to the north. Today the temple to Isis stands in glory and is one of the best preserved Ptolemaic temples.
The granite blocks used for the construction of the temples were quarried from sites along the Nile near Aswan. In one of the quarries can be seen the famous unfinished obelisk dating from 1500 BC. It was to have been erected for Queen Hatshepsut, who was interested more in the arts than in military campaigns. The obelisk had to be carved out of a single piece of granite, and was to have been about 41m high, but unfortunately, when almost complete, it developed a crack and was abandoned."
See the above page for more.

Nile cruise and Abu Simbel
http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=24875
This fairly standard travel piece is accompanied by a lovely photograph of a painted relief from the Temple of Karnak. The author describes a Nile Cruise which began with a visit to Cairo and included a trip to aby Simbel: "As I looked up at four colossal sandstone statutes of the great Egyptian King Ramses II seated upon his throne wearing his huge double crown signifying reign over both Upper and Lower Egypt, I felt the same way I felt the first time I gazed upon such wonders as the pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal or the effigies of Easter Island.I had been to Egypt twice before, but only to Cairo to see the pyramids and tour the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. Now I realize that is just not enough. To truly appreciate Egypt you have to look beyond the pyramids."
See the above page for more.

Photographic slide show of Cairo and Alexandra
http://tinyurl.com/3ydjkq
There are some lovely photos in this slideshow of Cairo, with a few of Alexandria.

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